Come Home
by Angelic Snickers
Summary: Is this what it took for him to realize what he had? Did he have to almost lose everything to realize he's taken them all for granted? Did he really take his best friend for granted too?


_**I do not own Maximum Ride or any of the characters. Obviously. **_

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_"You're really selfish, you know that?" _

_"You try to handle everything on your own." _

_"You never tell anyone what's bothering you. It's like you don't trust us."_

_"__Everyone worries about you, and you don't even seem to care." _

_"We are your family, Fang. Don't you get it?" _

Max's words still rang in his head over and over like a broken record, even though he was miles away from her.

Fang and Max had gotten themselves into a huge fight, resulting in Fang flying off in an angry rage. He didn't want them to see him so upset. He didn't want to hurt them anymore than he already had.

He kept too many secrets, and tried to figure out everything by himself.

_"You're really selfish, you know that?"_ He was selfish, and he knew it. He didn't need her repeating what he told himself every day. He excluded the flock from something important, kept it to himself, and ended up hurting them in the end. He thought he could handle it.

Right now, Fang was flying north from Arizona. He needed time to think, to calm down, and figure out a way to make everything right again. He didn't even know what exactly started the fight. The details were a little fuzzy. All he could think about was what Max had said to him.

_"You never tell anyone what's bothering you."_ He didn't tell anyone, because he didn't want them to worry about him. He wasn't the type to share his feelings, let alone that he was being burdened by something. His flock was everything to him, and he didn't want them to fuss over him. The reason he didn't tell them so they wouldn't have to worry. Why couldn't Max understand that?

_"Everyone worries about you, and you don't even seem to care."_ Of course he cares, he loves the flock. He loves them more than anything. He would give up his life for them. He just doesn't know how to show that he cares. That was Max's biggest problem with him. She mistakes his ignorance for something much worse.

_"It's like you don't trust us."_ How could she think he doesn't trust them? Some things are simply too hard to talk about; it has nothing to do with having trust issues.

_"We are your family, Fang. Don't you get it?"_ His family. The flock was his family, they meant everything to him. He understands they are all that he has, but maybe he still doesn't completely understand that they are there for him, no matter what happens.

He would never admit it out loud, but everything she said hurt him. Sure, she was angry and probably just spit out some things without meaning to, but that doesn't change the fact that it hurt.

He said some pretty nasty things to her as well, so the fight wasn't one sided.

It was starting to rain, but Fang didn't give it much thought. If it started to rain so hard that he wouldn't be able to see where he was going, then he would land until it let up. But for now, he flew through the rain, ignoring the fact that his wings were getting wet.

What was he going to do? He hurt the flock. More importantly, he hurt Max, his best friend. The one who had been there for him ever since their days in the crates. She was there through all the experiments, the testing, and when Jeb broke them out of the School. She was always there.

She was the one who convinced Fang to open up a little and showed him that it's okay to trust people. He learned to trust even Jeb, a whitecoat from the School. But only because of Max. Only because she helped him see there was more than meets the eye.

She never gave up on him. She was stubborn as hell, but she finally got through all the walls he had put up to protect himself. She broke down every single barrier around him, got to know the person behind the mask, and he learned to trust her.

His best friend.

How could one little fight threaten everything?

How could one mistake put their entire relationship in jeopardy?

How could he let something so simple, so stupid, come between him and his best friend?

It was starting to pour down rain now, but Fang still didn't give any thought to it. He kept flying through the downpour, not thinking about where he was going.

Is this what it took to realize what he had? Did he have to almost lose everything to realize he's taken them for granted?

He stopped in mid air suddenly, wings flapping slowly to keep him hovering.

Was all of this a lesson to teach him that he had so much more than he thought? Was he really so selfish, that he couldn't see what was right lying right in front of him? No, he wouldn't do this anymore. He wouldn't take his family for granted any longer.

Was he really taking his best friend for granted, too?

He turned around and flew as fast as wings could carry him back home. Back where his family was. His flock, everyone he loved.

Nudge was curled up in a ball on the porch when he returned. She heard him land, and when she looked up she shot up like an arrow.

Her eyes were red, and tears were flowing rapidly down her face. "Fang!" She cried, running into the yard where he had landed. She barreled into him, almost knocking him over, and wrapped her arms around him in a bear hug. "You have to find Max. She flew off. I don't know where she went, but she was crying." She sniffed, more tears leaking from her eyes. "Max never cries!"

Just then, he heard a choked voice behind him. "Fang?"

He turned around to see Max standing with her arms wrapped around herself. Her eyes were rimmed with red and filled with unshed tears. He could tell she had already cried quite a bit tonight. All because of him.

Nudge let go of Fang, tears still flowing, and ran into the house, leaving Max and Fang in the rain.

Fang took a tentative step toward Max, and she just stood there blinking rapidly, an attempt to keep tears from escaping. She was fighting her tears, fighting the hurt she felt. She was soaked from head to toe, her hair sticking to her face.

It was still pouring, but neither of them took any notice.

Fang took another step toward her, only this time she stepped forward too. In that instant his arms were around her, pulling her close to him, and she slowly put her arms around his neck.

With his face buried in her hair, he whispered, "I'm so sorry."

The rain kept pouring, lightning flashed across the sky, and thunder sounded overhead. The two of them stood still in the downpour, getting soaked, wrapped in each other's arms.

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_A/N So how was it? This was my first attempt at a Maximum Ride story with a serious/sad mood. Errr that doesn't really make sense. I mean I didn't write with my usual jokes and sarcasm and the sort. Personally, I think Fang and Max are VERY VERY OOC. _

_I'm going to leave the fight to your interpretation. I purposely didn't explain what exactly it was about. :) _

_Just as a side note, the title was inspired by the song "Come Home" by Eyes Set to Kill. Has nothing to do with the story. _

_Oh and if you find any spelling/grammar mistakes, let me know and I'll fix them. _

_Please review! :) _

_I'm not afraid of flames. _

_Ciao. _


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